Chapter 121 Where the Messenger Bird Went "Senior brother, I'm going to the demon realm..."
Lin Feiran raised an eyebrow and looked at the plump black fish, as if he could see the hail-like spray behind it through the way it flicked its tail and spit out bubbles.
She was somewhat puzzled: "My lord, I have only been here for a day... but I have already asked everything I needed to ask. Chief Saitama will not say anything more to me. We will return once she has used the letter and determined the general location."
Has something urgent happened in the Demon Capital?
As if pausing, he straightened up, crossed his arms, and slowly swung his crossed legs, looking at the white fish swimming haphazardly in front of him.
“There’s nothing urgent in the Demon Capital. It’s just that no one else has your energy. They can’t work during the day and still have time to chat with me at night. That’s why I’m asking when you can return.”
Lin Feiran immediately understood. He was the only one awake at night, and could only look out at the vast darkness. How boring that was.
They used to spend some time together every night, mostly with her asking questions and him answering. Now that there was no one to bother them, they inevitably felt a little empty.
"We will go back as soon as possible."
She paused for a moment, then sat up in bed, walked to the table to pour tea, and the black fish stayed firmly by her side.
"My lord, what did you do at night when no one was around to chat with you?"
The black fish with ink turned around happily, but the sound it made was very peaceful, like a handful of cool autumn pond water.
"Cultivation".
This answer was somewhat unexpected.
But upon closer reflection, Ru Xian is strong-willed and greatly admires the strong. To be able to enter the Divine Travel Realm at this age, he must not be a lazy person. It's just that he is always seen sleeping during the day, and the two of them are mostly discussing the Dao at night, so I haven't seen him cultivate much.
A rare hint of curiosity appeared on her face: "Master, do you usually practice martial arts or cultivate your mind?"
To break through to a higher level, both physical movement and mental breakthrough are indispensable. I wonder which one he is lacking now.
As soon as Xue raised his hand, the white fish immediately followed, swirling its tail and spinning around his hand.
The matter of spiritual practice should actually be kept secret, and he was not used to discussing it with others. To talk about it would mean revealing his shortcomings and making him seem inferior.
But for someone like Lin Feiran, this was just a question of curiosity.
With a flick of his finger, the white fish immediately swung its tail and caught up. He rested his chin on his hand, looked at it for a moment, his eyes reflecting shimmering light, and finally spoke after a long while.
"I meditate to cultivate my mind. I have been stuck in the realm of spiritual wandering for a long time, but I still cannot find the way to break through to the realm of no-self."
Lin Feiran was not surprised. This is how the path of cultivation is. After one mountain is climbed, there is another. There is always a higher mountain than the one before. The path is endless.
Regardless of powerful figures like Xian, even saints who have reached the True Realm still face other obstacles; the True Realm is not the end of the path.
"My lord, there is still plenty of time. The more you rush, the less likely you are to find it. Perhaps you are just missing an opportunity."
Ru Xian remained noncommittal: "Opportunities are rare, but I have more pressing matters to attend to before I enter the country."
Lin Feiran nodded and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
Ru Xian's lips curved slightly as she looked out the window, her expression enigmatic as she said, "You're already helping me."
A moment of silence fell, not exactly still, but there was an unspeakable quietude.
Lin Feiran pursed his lips and broke the silence: "Lord, what does it look like when someone in the Divine Travel Realm meditates? I've never seen it before."
Like a sudden gust of wind, he said in a cool voice, "Is that something you can see whenever you want?"
Lin Feiran did not back down. Her calm eyebrows twitched slightly, revealing a smile: "Alright, actually I've never seen you meditate before, so I'm a little curious."
Will it radiate golden light, just like before?
As if a wisp of smoke raised its eyebrows slightly, it changed the subject of her words: "You want to see me?"
"Hmm?" Lin Feiran sat down at the table, then corrected, "I was a little curious about how you meditate."
Ru Xian nodded: "If you want to see me, then see me. Now that you have the Yin-Yang symbol, why are you afraid of not being able to see me? I allow you to see me."
Although the reasons were somewhat different, the result was the same as she had expected, so Lin Feiran did not refuse. She summoned the Yin-Yang Fish, recalled the method of manipulation, and formed a hand seal. A hazy light then flowed before the eyes of the white fish.
It paused for a moment, then continued chasing the hail-like fingertips.
Two scenes suddenly appeared before Lin Feiran's eyes, overlapping each other. When she focused on one of them, the other scene gradually faded away.
One place was her temporary bedroom, and the other was a pure white object.
What's this strange thing?
Confused, she immediately steered the white fish backward, only to discover that it was Ru Xian's hand.
"..."
Could it be that this white fish has been chasing his hand all day?
Only when his gaze was drawn back could Lin Feiran see the full view of the room, which was his residence with a mirrored wall.
She controlled the white fish to turn to the left, passing over the green table, the brewing of tea, and the backflow of incense, finally meeting a pair of slightly smiling eyes.
He sat in a lacquered wooden chair, loosely dressed in a dark silk robe, his hand supporting his chin, his long, unconcealed legs draped over his knees, his bare feet resting on a soft carpet, looking both aloof and at ease.
Whether it's snow-white hair or half-draped legs, everything under this ink-black hue exudes an indescribable luster and translucency.
He looked at the fish that was moving extremely stiffly, flicked his fingers lightly, and said softly.
"So silly."
The white fish, caught off guard, suddenly leaned back and spun around. It was unharmed, but Lin Feiran, who was still not used to seeing through its eyes, also leaned back and sat down on the ground.
"..."
Her ears turned slightly red, and she immediately stood up, hurriedly patting the hem of her clothes, looking somewhat unnatural: "It was just an accident."
Ru Xian was also taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. He was startled at first, then smiled with his eyes crinkling. His voice was like the sound of a chime, cool and clear, but his gaze did not leave Lin Feiran.
"It all started because of me. To make amends, I'll show you how I cultivate my mind and meditate."
He still spoke with a smile, but in reality, he was turning the page.
"Although the methods of spiritual movement are generally the same, individual techniques and levels of attainment differ, resulting in subtle differences. You can observe them."
After speaking, Ru Xian crossed her legs without any hesitation, formed a hand seal, closed her eyes slightly, and the red mark on her left eye became even more conspicuous.
Almost the instant he closed his eyes, his sleeves rose without wind, and the surrounding spiritual energy almost solidified. Points of golden spiritual light swept across his eyebrows and eyes, slowly gathering around his body.
Lin Feiran was completely focused on observing the surge of spiritual energy. The more she looked, the more amazed she became. It was the first time she had ever seen someone move their spirit so freely.
It doesn't start from the two main spiritual veins, but rather first flows from the arms into the back of the spine, then to the chest, then circles back into the back of the spine, and so on, before finally heading towards the spiritual vein between the legs...
If others are like a flowing river, he is like a series of continuous segments.
What a strange method of spirit manipulation.
The white fish swung its tail merrily, its gaze following Lin Feiran's downwards, heading precisely towards the leg ring.
Lin Feiran snapped back to her senses and stood up abruptly. Before she could make a move, she was easily grabbed by the spirit medium.
As Ru Xian opened his eyes, his spiritual energy vanished. He brought the fish to his eyes and said in a slightly cool voice, "You still need to learn from your master about this aspect of integrity. Playing with your hands is fine, but doing more than that is going too far."
Lin Feiran felt as if she had been burned. Even though she knew that Ru Xian had no intention of making veiled accusations, she still felt guilty for being implicated.
She suggested watching him meditate, hoping to break the previous subtle sense of sadness. But now the atmosphere had changed, and there was no need to watch anymore.
She immediately formed a hand seal and broke the seal, leaving only a faint candlelight and complete silence in the room.
Ru Xian's eyes flickered slightly, and she still tapped the white fish with her fingertip, saying in a low voice, "See, you scared it away."
The yin-yang fish is merely a spiritual creature born from a contract; it cannot understand his meaning and simply opens its mouth to spit bubbles.
Holding the white fish between his fingers, the white fish showed no fear whatsoever.
Although Ruxian was initially indifferent to it, it gradually became kinder. It not only let it out for fresh air often, but also let it do as it pleased without any restrictions. Although it was born from Lin Feiran's eyes, it was almost about to turn against him.
The next moment, Ru Xian released her hand and looked at Lin Feiran through the black fish's gaze.
Before her face had even recovered from the shock, she seemed to sense something and suddenly stood up, forming a hand seal.
"My lord, the letter I replaced has finally shown some movement!"
A slight smile appeared on Ru Xian's face. He pointed his finger, and the black fish swam to her ear. The two of them looked into her palm.
In the twinkling star chart, a messenger bird is flying south.
The south is inhabited by many demons and is also a place connected to the Endless Sea.
The two watched together until the messenger bird finally flew to the south. It did not cross the border, but landed on a hillside belonging to a tribe, where it was caught by one of them.
Before Lin Feiran could even see the person's face clearly, the mark on the messenger bird disappeared.
Lin Feiran had completely calmed her mind and asked, "Lord, where in the Demon Realm is this?"
Ru Xian was somewhat curious about her magical artifact that could perform geomancy, but she didn't ask any questions. She simply recalled what she had just seen.
Although the surrounding night was dark and the area was covered in grassy slopes typical of the south, he still managed to catch a glimpse of it as the homing birds landed.
"It should be near the sea."
"Ji Hai?" That name sounds familiar.
Ru Xian added, "Jihai is the territory of the Merfolk, but there are many tribes living near the sea, but it is unknown which tribe they belong to."
Lin Feiran's expression was uncertain. She withdrew the hand seal and murmured, "The Qiyu Clan Chief is so busy tonight, yet she still took the time to go back to her room to deliver a letter. It seems that the matter concerning my seal is of great importance, and she is unwilling to wait even one night."
Upon hearing this, Ru Hai's fingertips tapped on the desk: "You said that after finding out the location, you would return as soon as possible. Why not do it tomorrow?"
Lin Feiran didn't want to linger, so he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll inform Qingzhu and the others."
"..."
As if a hailstone paused slightly, she looked through the eyes of a swimming fish and suddenly asked, "Why are you looking outside?"
Upon hearing this, the waning heat returned, and Lin Feiran walked out without looking back: "I'll go inform Qingzhu!"
...
Deep in the dense forest, Qingzhu paused before a clump of leaves. He brushed aside the branches to reveal his severed head.
He sighed softly, placed his hand on the surface, and in an instant, memories of his clone flooded his mind.
It turned out that he had run into the infiltrated cult disciple during his journey, and the two fought. Since his clone was not strong to begin with, he ended up with his body separated from his head.
"Well, it's fate. You escaped in vain, but you couldn't even be a scapegoat. I'm sure you feel quite regretful."
A cluster of black flames ignited at his fingertips, instantly engulfing the corpse without leaving a trace.
Qingzhu stood up and headed down the mountain. Halfway down, she suddenly noticed something and took out a jade pendant from her bag.
He raised his eyebrows slightly, a smile playing on his lips, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
He changed his voice and said, "Junior brother, what is so important that you would use this jade tablet to communicate with me?"
A voice as cold as ice and snow came from the other side of the jade pendant, but the tone was not as deep and even as before; instead, it was somewhat high-pitched.
He asked, "Senior brother, where are you now?"
Qingzhu, or rather Ji Changying, smiled and said, "I am cultivating in the mountains. If you need anything, come find me."
Wei Changzai remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Senior brother, I'm going to enter the demon realm."
Ji Changying's smile faltered slightly. He looked up at the bright moon in the sky, immediately calculated the time in the mortal realm, and exclaimed, "Junior brother, it's only noon. Did you just wake up from your dream?"
Wei Changzai didn't care, only lowered her eyes to wipe the shimmering sword in her hand, her gaze as calm as ink.
"I'm just letting you know."
Ji Changying withdrew her gaze, stepping on the dappled moonlight, making a rustling sound as she trod on the fallen leaves.
"Why are you telling me this? Your trip to the demon realm has nothing to do with me."
His eyes flickered, and a smile appeared on his lips. He feigned surprise and said, "Could it be that I told you before that I wanted to be with my junior sister, and you're feeling resentful and deliberately came here to show off?"
"Junior brother, perhaps... I am also on my way to the demon realm."
With a clang, the longsword was sheathed, and only the sound of swords echoed from the jade tablet.
Author's Note: Little White Fish, a unique creation belonging to Ruxun's Abebe (X).
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